Plymouth Prowler: Anatomy of a New American Roadster Book Review

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Plymouth Prowler: Anatomy of a new American roadster Paperback – 1997

by Karla A Rosenbusch (Author)

Paperback: 40 pages
Publisher: Automobile Quarterly (1997)
Language: English
ASIN: B0006QMO3O

40 page brochure including specifications of the Prowler, behind the scenes sketches, production line photos and synopsis of then Chrysler product lineup. Includes introductory letter from then AQ Publishing Director Jonathan Stein. Great piece for the Prowler owner or enthusiast.

The Plymouth Prowler, later the Chrysler Prowler, is a retro-styled production car manufactured and marketed from 1997 to 2002 by DaimlerChrysler, based on the 1993 concept car of the same name.

The Prowler was offered in a single generation in a front-engine, rear-drive, rear-transmission configuration — with an overall production of 11,702.

Chrysler engineers were given free rein to design whatever they wanted in a "hot rod" or "sportster" type vehicle. Chrysler's design and international director Thomas C. Gale said his "love for 1930s-era hot rods inspired Chrysler's latest design triumph, the retro-styled Plymouth Prowler."[1] Gale, who has a hotted up 1932 Ford in his garage approved the hotrod-inspired Plymouth Prowler as the company's follow-up show-stopper to the Dodge Viper.[2] An early influence is credited to a Chrysler-sponsored project at the Art Center College of Design that resulted in a thesis by Douglas "Chip" Foose that included drawings of a retro-roadster.[3] Foose "designed it as a coupe for Chrysler to begin with but modified it to a roadster version."[4]

One of the most striking design features of the Prowler are the open, Indy racer-style front wheels. The Prowler featured a powertrain from Chrysler's LH-cars, a 24-valve, 3.5 L Chrysler SOHC V6 engine producing 214 hp (160 kW; 217 PS) at 5850 rpm. For the 1999 model year, the engine was replaced with a more powerful, aluminum-block, 253 hp (189 kW; 257 PS) at 6400 rpm version of the engine. Both engines were coupled to a four-speed Autostick semi-automatic transmission. The transmission was located at the rear of the vehicle and joined to the engine by a torque tube that rotated at engine speed, an arrangement similar to that used by the C5 Corvette, Porsche 944, and Alfa Romeo 75, and helped to facilitate a desirable 50-50 front-rear weight distribution. The Prowler was the first rear-wheel drive Plymouth since the 1989 Plymouth Gran Fury and would stand as the last Plymouth model with that layout. While criticized for having only a V6 engine, Chrysler's High Output 3.5 had a horsepower rating similar to (or higher than) the company's Magnum V8s of that era. While not making nearly as much torque as a V8, Prowler's light weight helped to achieve rapid off-the-line acceleration.

The car prominently featured aluminum construction, in many cases adhesively bonded, chiefly in the chassis. The body was produced in Shadyside, Ohio, and the car was assembled by hand at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant (CAAP) in Detroit, Michigan.

Unlike the Dodge Viper, the Prowler was equipped with many features that allowed it to be used as a daily driver. These features included keyless entry, power windows and door locks, dual airbags, leather-trimmed bucket seats, air conditioning with manual controls, an AM/FM stereo with cassette player (a multi-disc CD changer was an available option as well) and a high-fidelity sound system, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio system controls mounted on the rear of the wheel, a color-keyed instrument panel bezel painted to match the exterior color of the Prowler (a similar feature found on the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which was also originally intended to be sold as a Plymouth), digital odometer and full instrumentation, and, on later models, a speed-sensitive volume control activated via a switch mounted on the Prowler's instrument panel.